


The Long Road

by lordclover



Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:35:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22803430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordclover/pseuds/lordclover
Summary: Sean has been running for weeks. He's protected his brother and kept moving, his gaze firmly on the present. Yet when things finally slow down, Sean learns he can't run from everything. Grief isn't something you can hide from like the police. It's not something Sean can handle on his own, as desperately as he wants to. Luckily he's not on his own and with the help of his brother and his new friends he might just find a way to move on from Seattle and the life he left behind.
Relationships: Cassidy & Sean Diaz, Daniel Diaz & Finn (Life is Strange), Daniel Diaz & Sean Diaz, Sean Diaz/Finn
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	1. Prologue: Christmas Spirit

Going to the Christmas market was not Sean’s choice. He didn’t want to go with Chris and his dad, Sean had heard what Claire had said about Charles. Chris had even told him. It was an awkward ride there to say the least.

Charles didn’t know how to talk to Sean and Sean plainly didn’t want to talk to him. He wasn’t in the habit of befriending child abusers. Sean didn’t trust him in the slightest. He was acting like a good dad, but Sean had seen the signs. The empty beer cans on the porch, the bruise on Chris’s arm, even when they first met, he’d noticed Chris’s hesitation to talk to his dad. The uncertainty, like he was testing the waters. Seeing if he was cool dad or a monster. That was no way for a kid to live in fear.

Charles eventually turned on the radio, letting it drown out the silence of the truck. Sean looked out the window, occasionally checking the mirror to see what Daniel was up to. Daniel stayed true to his word and didn’t mess around, Sean spotted nothing strange on their ride. He just hoped Charles didn’t see anything either.

The Christmas market wasn’t that far from their street, it was in a large parking lot near the town’s center. Large chain link fences surrounded it, marking off the different sections. Sean spotted two entrances, one by the vendors, and another by the Christmas trees. Charles parked by the latter.

As soon as the truck came to a halt, Sean got out. He shut the door behind him and it closed with a soft _thunk._ Charles reached the back before Sean did and opened the hatch.

“That was so cool!” Daniel said. “I’ve never ridden in the back of a truck, have you Sean?”

“I have,” Sean said.

It was the worst experience of his life… well _had been_ the worst experience of his life prior to the past few weeks.

“C’mon,” Sean said.

He offered Daniel help and Daniel instantly moved towards him. He hoisted Daniel out of the back while Chris leapt onto the ground. Sean eyed Charles, but Charles didn’t notice. The instant Daniel’s feet touched the ground, he dashed towards Chris, but Sean grabbed his arm before he could get too far away.

“We’ll catch up with you guys,” Sean said to Chris and his dad.

“Sure,” Charles said. “We’ll just be inside then.”

“But-“ Daniel began.

“Don’t get lost,” Charles said.

Sean nodded and watched as Charles led the way into the market. Chris looked back at the two, before following after his dad. He looked around to make sure no one was close enough to over hear them before he turned on Daniel.

“Dude, what the _fuck?_ ” Sean demanded. “I can’t believe you fucking did that! How many times do we have to go over this?!”

“Don’t show the power, I know, I know!” Daniel grumbled.

“Clearly you don’t!” Sean groaned.

He let out a frustrated huff, before looking back at Daniel.

“I do!” Daniel said defensively. “It’s just… Chris thinks he can do all this cool stuff… I wish he could… we could be superheroes together… it’s like being with Noah again… I miss having friends.”

Daniel’s eyes were glossed over and Sean deflated, his anger dissipating. He understood all too well. They didn’t just lose dad, they lost everyone else too. Sean had called Lyla, but all of his other friends… they were gone. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever see Lyla again. God, he missed her, but… he had to protect Daniel.

“I know man,” Sean said. “But… you can’t lie about this kind of shit to friends, man. He could get hurt if he thinks he can make shit fly.”

“So…” Daniel trailed off as he considered this. “You want me to tell him the truth?”

“I…” Sean hesitated. He didn’t like people knowing about Daniel’s powers, but it was dangerous to let Chris think he had powers when he didn’t. Chris wasn’t shy about it, he had been openly trying to use it around Daniel. “I don’t want you to lie anymore, alright?” Daniel nodded slowly. “You don’t… have to tell him _everything,_ just… don’t let him think he’s got magic powers, okay?” Daniel nodded again. “You swear?”

“I swear,” Daniel agreed.

“Good,” Sean said with a tired smile. “I’m counting on you.”

“Can I… go find Chris?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, alright,” Sean relented. “Just don’t forget what we talked about, alright?”

“Alright, alright,” Daniel said. “C’mon!”

Daniel darted away before Sean could change his mind. Sean took in a deep breath and released it with a shudder. He looked around slowly, spotting a figure and a dog drawing nearer. Sean stared at them for a moment, before Daniel called him again.

Sean looked up and started towards the Christmas market. Already the scent was overwhelming him, dragging him back to years back. It’d been a long time since he’d gone Christmas tree shopping for a real tree. Last they went Daniel was five… he wondered if Daniel even remembered that. They’d used a plastic tree since, their dad put pine car fresheners among the branches to make it seem more real. Sean always thought it was stupid, but Daniel liked it.

His heart plummeted as reality sunk in. Their dad wasn’t here with them, shopping for a tree again. He was dead… probably in the ground somewhere. Christ, the funeral had already happened, and they hadn’t been there. His dad always promised they’d get another real tree when he wasn’t as busy. Now… that would never happen. Sean swallowed, having to fight back tears. God, he needed to keep it together, fight back the memories. He’d been doing a good job keeping himself focused, but it was moments like these that he felt them crawling back. He needed a constant distraction and usually Daniel kept him busy. But now…

Sean grimaced and shook his head. He could do this. Just needed to keep himself from thinking about it. He balled his hand into a fist and started towards the Christmas market. He made it into the entrance and looked over to see a plastic table set up with a register and a machine to wrap the trees.

“Cool,” Daniel said. “Is that how they wrap the trees?”

“Yeah,” Sean said. “I should put you in.”

“Shut up!” Daniel said.

He shoved Sean and Sean snickered. Daniel started towards the trees and Sean stopped in his tracks, his heart stopping for a moment.

He could see them again, see their dad so vividly. He watched Sean and smiled slowly, beckoning him over.

“ _Come on, mijo! It’s tree time!”_

His voice rang painfully in Sean’s ears.

“Sean, you coming?” Daniel called. “They’re going to pick up a tree.”

Sean blinked and shook his head. When he looked back up, his dad was gone. He didn’t know if he was relieved or... disappointed. He almost forgot he was dead. His voice had been _so_ clear, the image of him so… _real._

But he was dead. He’d died. Sean _watched_ him die. They weren’t ever going to get a real Christmas tree.

Sean looked down to see Daniel standing in front of the rows of trees. He looked ready to bolt again but was waiting for Sean. He appreciated Daniel not running off, he liked to have him in his sight… but he wasn’t ready to go in. He felt like he was going to fall apart if he did.

“Yeah,” Sean managed. “Go on ahead and help them, I need… I need a moment.”

He needed more than a moment. He needed more time, weeks, _years…_ but they didn’t have that. He just needed to suck it up, find a way to gather himself and march on.

“Alright,” Daniel said with a shrug.

Sean walked back out quickly, his chest still felt painfully tight. He couldn’t quite shake the image of his dad, the sound of his voice bounced in his mind still. Sean couldn’t even remember the last thing he’d said to his dad. When was the last time he said he’d loved him? The last real talk had been about a party. It’d felt so important then, but now… it seemed like a waste of time.

He marched out of the market, trying his hardest to force all thoughts of his dad out of his mind, but it was like he’d opened the floodgates. Even small memories that had been insignificant in the moment were resurfacing.

“Dammit,” Sean growled under his breath.

“Woah, that’s not gonna get you on the nice list-“

Sean whirled around to see a guy around his age leaning against the chain link fence. He was tall, but not taller than Sean. His hair looked like it had been blonde once, but now looked more of a light brown with only pieces of blonde peeking through. He wore a smirk, his gray eyes flashing with humor.

A pitbull was stationed beside him, his tail wagging slowly. The dog’s was big, sitting he reached his owner’s knee. The dog was a gray with a brindled brown back and a large blocky head. He had scars across his face and Sean wondered how many fights he’d gotten in. It didn’t look like squirrel scratches, but something bigger. Sean winced, the image of the cougar and Mushroom flashed before his eyes.

A wet nose pressed against his hand and he looked down to see the dog had approached him, tail wagging. A corner of his lip twitched up in a slight smile. Sean stroked the dog’s head, before he looked back to his owner.

“Sorry,” Sean said. “Didn’t realize there was someone out here.”

He stood up straight again and let his gaze slide away from the pair, still desperate to push any memories to the back of his mind.

“It’s all good,” the dog’s owner chuckled. He had an accent Sean couldn’t quite place, but it was drawling. He certainly wasn’t from around here.

If his voice didn’t make it clear, his outfit certainly did. He had a thick dark jacket, and a red shirt under it that had black arrows arranged in a symbol. He had a dark bandana around his neck, one that seemed useless with all this snow. Where was he planning to go that he needed a bandana?

“Don’t like Christmas trees?” he continued.

Sean scratched the back of his neck and shrugged.

“Something like that…” Sean muttered.

He looked away again, staring at the gravel on the ground. He kicked at a rock, sending it skittering across the parking lot.

Not an easy thing to explain his dad died only weeks ago… something he still hadn’t processed fully. All of the running kept him busy, kept him from thinking about it too deeply. They’d had enough trouble that Sean had to be sharp and alert, but now… they were looking for a Christmas tree. Something he used to do with his dad…

“Take a load off, my friend,” he said. “We’re both good listeners.”

Sean studied him uncertainly. He had several small tattoos on his face, most of them were a dark blue. He'd heard it was painful to get a tattoo, especially on the face, but the dog's owner had several. The boy smiled at him crookedly. Sean glanced down to the dog to see he was watching Sean closely. It wasn’t a malicious look; it seemed the dog was waiting for Sean to do something more interesting.

“I’m not a good talker,” Sean conceded.

“I hear that, don’t worry about it then,” he said with an unbothered shrug. “Name’s Finn.”

“Sean,” Sean returned.

“Live around here, Sean?” Finn asked. “Got family?”

“No, just passing through,” Sean said.

It had become his reflex to lie. He didn’t want anyone to know where they were staying or where they were going to be. He didn’t even like Chris and Charles knowing, it felt dangerous. They already had their names plastered across the state, the fucking gas station owner had figured out who they were in minutes. Trouble was easy to find, they needed to lie low for a while.

He hated lying, it felt like his tongue was coated in tar each time he did it. His dad had hated it too, ingrained it in him it was better to be honest. Hell, even the day he’d died he made it clear he wanted only the truth. He’d asked Sean what he was going to use the money for and… when Sean answered honestly, he gave him more. That turned out to be good luck, they’d needed the extra cash on the road…

The dog looked at Sean with large brown eyes. Sean smiled slightly and leaned down, holding his hand out. The dog approached him again with a wagging tail. He sniffed Sean’s hand and Sean petted him slowly. His fur was coarse but felt softer the longer Sean petted him.

“He likes you,” Finn chuckled. “Old boy usually doesn’t like much attention.”

Sean missed Mushroom a lot more than he had expected. Mushroom had started out as an inconvenience, but quickly Sean learned to love her as much as Daniel. She was small, cute… just a pup… like Daniel. She’d died to soon… maybe if Sean had gone out with her, kept a closer eye on her-

The dog leaned up, resting his front legs onto Sean’s shoulders. Sean fell back, surprised by the sudden weight. Unaffected, the dog leaned forward and licked Sean’s face eagerly. His tongue was large and quick, it didn’t take much time for Sean’s entire face to be covered in dog drool.

“Hey now, boy,” Finn laughed. “Second base already?”

Sean put a hand to defend himself, pushing the dog back. Instantly the dog sat back onto the ground, tail whipping back and forth in the snow furiously. Sean smiled at him. The dog had a broad chest with a white splash on it. He seemed sturdy, built like a truck.

“What’s his name?” Sean asked.

“Don’t even know his name?” Finn asked. “You two seem pretty friendly for strangers.”

Sean looked back at Finn to see him smiling in amusement. Sean rolled his eyes.

“Haha,” Sean said in a flat voice, but he was aware it was unconvincing with his smile.

“His name’s Pigeon,” Finn supplied. “Ain’t that right, Pidge?”

Pigeon’s tail wagged at his name.

“C’mon,” Finn said.

He offered Sean a hand and Sean accepted it gratefully. Sean was surprised at how strong Finn was, he didn’t look particularly strong or bulky, but he easily hauled Sean to his feet.

“Thanks,” Sean said.

He brushed himself off.

“That’s why dogs need leashes,” a disgruntled voice said behind him. “How _awful._ ”

Sean looked back to see two women walking out into the parking lot. The older of the two seemed to notice Sean’s gaze and eyed him warily. She said something to the other woman, something Sean couldn’t hear. Panic flickered through him. There was no way they could’ve recognized him, right?

“Boys these days,” she huffed.

Sean relaxed.

“Ain’t harmin’ no one,” Finn scoffed. “Just sharing the love.”

The women ignored him entirely and continued onto a silver minivan.

“Sean!” Daniel called eagerly.

Sean looked over to see Daniel on the other side of the chain link fence nearest to them.

“Come on already! Chris found a cool one,” Daniel said. “Let’s go!”

“Yeah, alright,” Sean said.

Daniel turned and darted away, seemingly without noticing Finn. He certainly hadn’t noticed Pigeon, if he had Sean knew he would’ve tried to pet him. Not that it would have been a bad thing, Pigeon was friendly. Sean had been trying to stop Daniel from reaching out to any nearby dog, not all dogs appreciated the attention. Sean had learned that the hard way when he was little, still had a mark from it.

“That your brother?” Finn asked.

Sean looked back to him and nodded.

“Yeah,” Sean said.

“Sounds like he needs you, big bro,” Finn chuckled. “Promise the trees won’t bite, just gotta soldier on past and ignore their nasty looks.”

“They’re prickly,” Sean admitted. He turned and started back towards the entrance, before glancing back and saying, “but I’ll find a way to survive.”

“Careful not to scratch that pretty face.”

Sean had already stepped back into the lot when he realized what Finn had said. He stopped dead in his tracks, letting the words sink in. _Pretty face._ He’d looked in the mirror that morning, he knew he wasn’t great. Yet Finn’s tone hadn’t been mocking, not like before.

“Sean!” Daniel whined.

Sean blinked and looked over to see Daniel standing feet in front of him.

“Yeah?” Sean asked in confusion.

“You said you’d come over!” Daniel said. “What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Daniel said. He looked around for the culprit but seemed to find none as his gaze settled on Sean again.

“Nothing,” Sean said.

His cheeks burned, but it was cold out. He was just cold and… that was it.

“Let’s go,” Sean mumbled. “Hey, did you tell Chris?”

“I’m… working on it,” Daniel said.

Sean gave him a stern look and Daniel sighed.

“I will, I promise!” Daniel said. “I just need to find the right moment, alright?”

“Let him know before we get home,” Sean said. “It only gets harder.”

He’d also learned that from experience. He’d kept the secret that their dad had died for way longer than he should have. Sean had planned to tell Daniel, but… he waited too long. No one should learn their dad died from the news… he still regretted it.

“I know,” Daniel said. “I will.”

Daniel walked faster and Sean slowed down. He watched as Daniel rejoined Chris and Charles. Sean looked around slowly. He saw a figure move in the corner of his eye, someone familiar, and instantly Sean turned. He’d seen him, for a second, he was there. He’d seen the flash of his blue windbreaker. Sean started towards where he’d seen him, his pace quickening.

“Sean?” Daniel called. “Sean!”

The impossibility of who it could be was lost on Sean, all that mattered was the blue of windbreaker. He’d had a blue windbreaker just like that, he used to wear it when it got cold.

Sean ignored Daniel and continued forward, his heart beginning to race. He turned the corner around the row of trees in time to see the figure walk out of view. Frustrated Sean fell into a sprint, dashing down the row to catch up. His feet slipped under him as he turned to quickly, but he caught himself before he could fall.

“You alright?” A husky voice asked.

Sean looked up and his heart fell. That wasn’t his dad. Now that the man was before him, it was painfully obvious. His shoulders were too wide, his dark hair had too much gray, his wind breaker was too light.

“Y-yeah, sorry,” Sean muttered.

“Ain’t a problem, son,” the man chuckled. “Take care now.”

Sean nodded and walked back towards the main area. Why did he feel so disappointed? He _knew_ he was dead. He’d seen him die, saw him laying limp in the grass. He was dead. There was no disputing it, newspapers and tvs screamed it at him. His dad was dead.

“Sean?” Daniel asked uneasily. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Sean said. “Find a tree?”

“We… found one that looks like a witch,” Daniel said tentatively.

“Show me,” Sean said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Daniel nodded and smiled slowly. He took Sean’s hand and started to drag him back out to the different row of trees. Sean followed him but couldn’t help looking back at the man one more time. It was impossible, but for a split-second Sean had thought he was still alive. He’d been so sure; he’d felt a surge of excitement. Now… he felt empty again.

“Look!” Daniel said eagerly.

Sean looked up as Daniel stopped. Before them stood a tree that’s trunk was bent and twisted, resembling a hunched person.

“Isn’t it cool?” Chris asked. “Dad says we can’t take it, we need a normal tree.”  
“Yeah, it’s cool alright,” Sean agreed.

Daniel’s smile fell as he looked back to Sean. He didn’t return the excitement they’d had; Sean knew he didn’t. Guilt pierced through him sharply. Daniel deserved this; Sean didn’t want to take away from this, but… it was hard to pretend to get excited over a Christmas tree without their dad.

“Hey, it’s awesome,” Sean said. Daniel’s smile returned slowly. “I’m going to go sit down, this is your first secret mission as superheroes together. Don’t let me down, alright?”

“We won’t!” Chris said. “Captain Spirit never fails!”

“And Superwolf!” Daniel added.

Sean smiled.

“I’ll be around if you need me,” Sean said.

“Okay,” Daniel said.

“Remember what we talked about,” Sean said to Daniel. “Before we leave, ok?”

“Okay,” Daniel huffed.

Sean watched as the two bound off. He really was starting to feel like the annoying adult only there to ruin the fun.

Sean turned and walked back through the rows of trees, his gaze flicking around for somewhere to sit. He spotted a bench in the next section along with a grouping of vendors. Sean walked into the area and glanced around. There were several stalls set up with various Christmas goodies for sale. There were wreaths, crafted snowmen, and wood carvings of reindeers.

Sean grimaced at the wooden reindeer, it reminded him way too much of the carved bears at the gas station. He still had that damned keychain; he’d meant to throw it out but never got around to it.

“Don’t like reindeer?” a voice asked.

He looked up to see an older man behind the stall smiling at him. He wore a red apron with a Santa Claus on the pocket.

“Bad memories,” Sean said.

The entire Christmas market was filled with them, every turn Sean took there was something new he had to confront. He’d repressed a lot of what had happened to them, but now it was finally creeping back out.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said. “Are you here with the Eriksons?”

“Sort of,” Sean said. “Chris is friends with my brother, Daniel.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Chris needs a good friend… after everything that happened with his mom ‘n all,” the vendor said.

“Yeah,” Sean agreed. 

He surveyed the different knick knacks for sale from the vendor and spotted a reindeer toy. He picked it up and examined it. There was a small switch on its stomach that illuminated its red nose. The toy itself was made of paper and cardboard, with a small bulb of a nose. It looked like the bulb wasn’t naturally red but had red marker drawn on it to make it glow red.

“Cute,” Sean remarked.

“Isn’t it?” the vendor chuckled. “We’re selling them to raise money for the high school. The older kids did the circuit for the nose, younger ones colored and crafted the body. We’re selling kits too.”

“How much for a kit?” Sean asked.

“Ten,” the vendor said.

Sean pulled out his wallet and skimmed through what cash he had left. Twenty. He wanted to get Daniel a toy, but…

“Seven for you,” the vendor added.

Sean eyed him warily. The man laughed good naturedly, not upset by Sean hesitance.

“Just glad Chris’s finally got someone to look out for him,” the vendor explained.

Sean nodded and picked out the cash. He handed it over and the vendor exchanged the kit for it. Sean walked over to one of the picnic tables and examined the kit, trying to figure out if he’d been ripped off or not. The kit seemed basic enough, but truthfully Sean didn’t know how to price it. It’d been a long time since he’d done any, his dad had always insisted they already had the materials at home.

There was a strong possibility Daniel would hate it, but… maybe it didn’t have to be a reindeer? They could make a number of things if they were imaginative enough, a glowing red nose could be a bionic eye of a robot, or the bloodthirsty gaze of a zombie. Sean pulled out his sketchbook and started to draw a couple of ideas, studying the back of the kit to get an idea of what they have.

As Sean sketched a few ideas, he looked around. For the first time, he noticed the girl playing an acoustic guitar. She was settled in one of the corners of the market, a hat discarded near her with cash in it. If only he knew how to play guitar, maybe they could’ve made some money a while back. He turned back to his sketchbook, contemplating what Daniel would like.

After filling a spread in his sketchbook, he slid the kit back into his bag as Daniel walked closer. He wasn’t about to spoil Christmas. Instead, he started to draw out the Christmas market and the rows of Christmas trees for sale. He spent more time on it than he should have, filling in the shadows, defining the leaves, before finally he stared blankly at the empty aisles. Thoughtlessly he sketched a person, and then a boy. Slowly the man’s hair darkened, his stubble became a thin beard and mustache, his jacket got a familiar oil stain, and his smile turned joking. He drew a baby nestled in the man’s arms, pudgy cheeks, with a marshmallow jacket consuming him. The boy gained Sean’s lanky stature, he’d always been thin even as a kid, and his old hoodie.

He stared at the picture for a moment, feeling as if he was trapped in time. He smiled slowly. For a moment he forgot where he was, how old he was, what had happened. For a moment all he could remember was the bells jingling, his dad’s laughter, and Daniel’s happy baby gurgling-

“Hey!”

Sean jumped, slamming his knee against the tabletop.

“Dammit,” Sean said.

That hurt, it’d definitely bruise.

“I’m sorry,” Chris said instantly. “I didn’t mean to scare you! I… like your drawing.”

“It’s fine,” Sean said. “… thanks.”

“I wish I could draw as good as you,” Chris commented. “Then I could make comics about our adventures! Captain Spirit and Superwolf!”

“You should,” Sean said. “No better time to start… hey speaking of Superwolf, where is he?”

“I’m here,” Daniel huffed.

Sean looked up to see Daniel standing by the reindeer cut out with crossed arms.

“You didn’t even notice me?” Daniel asked.

“Sorry,” Sean said.

“Whatever,” Daniel muttered.

Sean watched as Daniel stalked off. Why was he so mad?

“Wait up!” Chris called.

He darted off and Sean watched as the two disappeared among the trees again. Sean sighed and slid his sketchbook back into his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and started back towards the trees. He needed to find Daniel and talk to him, figure out… what that was all about-

“Found what you were looking for, city boy?” 

He stopped in his tracks, looking over to see the girl playing guitar had spoken to him. She looked like a teenager, with bright purple hair that was shaved on the sides and hazel eyes. She was wearing a thick gray jacket that had a few patches on the side. Her backpack was propped against the fence behind her, sporting similar patches, and a bedroll. She didn’t live around here, had to be traveling like them.

“Yeah,” Sean said.

He glanced around for Daniel but didn’t see him nearby. He walked over to the girl uncertainly, not understanding why she’d spoken to him. He hated the unease he felt at every new person, the suspicion that lingered in the back of his mind. _Did she know who they were?_

“Something for my little brother,” Sean said.

“You… bought your brother something… out here?” She asked with a snicker of disbelief.

Sean frowned, irritation flicking through him. Not like he had many options; Claire didn’t like them leaving the house. They were locked up there day and night, for good reason, but it made his options limited.

“Damn, poor kid,” she said. She seemed to take notice of his frown and stopped chuckling. “Sorry… I’m just a grumpy old gal.”

“Right,” Sean said.

“It’s nice to have a real conversation for once… nobody around here give’s a shit about us,” she explained. “I can… tell you’re not from around here, like me.”

“Now we are,” Sean said. “Kinda.”

He didn’t know what to say anymore. He couldn’t tell the truth, but lying would draw more suspicion. He just needed to avoid the question entirely, but every single person seemed to want to know. Since when did it matter where they came from? They weren’t there now, and they couldn’t ever go back. It sucked being reminded constantly they didn’t belong.

“That sounds… complicated,” she said. “Drama?”

“Yeah,” Sean scoffed. “Lots.”

“I hear that… waaay too much,” she chuckled softly. “Always something to argue ‘bout, ain’t there?”

“I guess,” Sean said. “What about you and… your friends? You guys on a road trip?”

“Not really,” she said with a small laugh. “We don’t really stay anywhere; we hop from place to place… hunting for little jobs.”

“Find a lot?” Sean asked, his curiosity peeked.

He needed little jobs, he probably couldn’t get a normal job, but they needed a way to make money.

The girl motioned towards her hat and Sean glanced down. He could count five dollars in cash and various coins at the bottom.

“Not really,” she admitted. “But it usually lasts us until we can get to bigger jobs.”

Sean nodded, considering this.

“Why? You gonna start playin’ guitar?” she teased.

“Believe me, no one wants that,” Sean chuckled. “I’d clear out this whole market.”

“I doubt that,” she said. “I like your voice already.”

“Haven’t heard me sing,” Sean said pointedly.

“Sean!” Daniel called excitedly.

Sean looked over to see Daniel hurrying towards them. His blue face paint was smeared at his jaw. Sean desperately wished he could take a picture of Daniel’s makeup, but he didn’t have a phone anymore. He’d just have to remember it and bring it up over the years.

“What are you doing?” Daniel asked. “C’mon! We picked a tree already! It’s not all crooked like the witch tree, but it’s like a zombie-“ he stopped suddenly as he seemed to notice the girl. “Oh, hi… who are you?” he looked to Sean and Sean smiled reassuringly. Daniel visibly relaxed before continuing, “Your hair looks so cool! Is it a wig?”

“Ah… well, what do you think?” she asked.

He was glad this question didn’t insult her, she seemed easy going enough.

“Hmmm…” Daniel considered this before shrugging. “I don’t know, but it looks cool! I’m Daniel, what’s your name?”

“Hi Daniel,” she chuckled.

She held her hand up and eagerly Daniel high fived her.

“I’m Cassidy, I dig your superhero outfit,” Cassidy said.

“I’m on a secret mission with my friend,” Daniel said proudly. “It’s very dangerous!”

Dangerous was a word for it alright. The worst they had to look out for was splinters, but Sean wasn’t about to ruin their fun. He’d done that too much lately, played the overbearing parent part way too well. Even he was getting sick of his reprimanding tone. It wasn’t like he liked bossing Daniel around- well ok maybe he did sometimes, but this was different. Having to play bad cop all the time sucked ass.

He really missed their dad. He’d always done a good job at being both bad cop and good cop. He liked to spoil Daniel, but Sean couldn’t blame him. Sean had been the one to ask him relentlessly to get Daniel a new playbox. Daniel loved the damn thing; it was worth the months of saving up. Sean didn’t get how their dad had done it on his own… Sean hadn’t really stepped up. He should have. After Karen left, he… he should have stepped up more. Shouldered the weight of everything… it couldn’t have been easy on him. They certainly hadn’t made it easy. He wondered if his dad thought he was a good brother, a good son-

“Sean!”

Sean started slightly. Daniel was waving a hand in front of his face.

“Yeah?” Sean asked. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Cassidy chuckled and Sean flushed. He looked away from them. As he did, he spotted Finn and Pigeon walking towards them.

“Hey there, Sean,” Finn said with a smirk. “How’ve you been?”

“So your name’s Sean?” Cassidy questioned.

“Oh… uh, sorry, I thought I told you,” Sean said as he looked back to Cassidy.

“She was asking when you spaced out,” Daniel said frustratedly. “You were all quiet and weird.”

Sean grimaced. Was that why Daniel was mad?

“No worries,” Cassidy said. “Where you been, Finn?”

“Sorry, went through some shit with the guys,” Finn said off handedly. “How much you make? You ready?”

“Not enough,” Cassidy said. “But we’ll survive.”

Finn looked over at them, his gaze lingering on Sean for a moment.

“Hello, pups,” Finn said.

“Oooh is that your doggie?” Daniel asked excitedly. “So cool!”

Daniel leaned forward towards Pigeon and instantly Sean held out his hand in front of Daniel, stopping him mid step.

“Enano, what’d we talk about?” Sean asked sharply.

“Right, sorry,” Daniel muttered. “I forgot.”

“It’s fine,” Sean said. “Just try and remember.”

Sean leaned down and offered his hand to Pigeon. Pigeon looked between the boys for a moment, before rising to his feet and approaching Sean. He bumped Sean’s hand onto his head and Sean smiled, scratching behind his ear gently. Tentatively Daniel held out his hand and Pigeon sniffed it, before licking his hand.

“Sweet!” Daniel said happily.

He petted Pigeon eagerly and Sean rose to his feet with a shake of his head.

“He’s one of us alright,” Finn said. “Old mutt’s been through a lot… like all of us, so we adopted him.”

Sean could feel Finn’s gaze and looked over at him in time to see Finn look at Daniel and Pigeon.

“And he stinks!” Finn laughed. Pigeon looked up at him, before laying down on the ground. Daniel continued to pet him despite Finn’s declaration, he seemed unbothered by the smell.

Finn leaned down for a moment and petted Pigeon’s head.

“He’s not the only one,” Cassidy scoffed.

“Have you checked your hair?” Finn retaliated. “I think it just twitched! You should keep your distance, dude.”

Finn bumped Sean’s arm, and Sean smiled slightly.

“Never too careful,” Sean admitted.

Finn seemed to like his answer as his smile grew.

“Whoa look out, the boys are joining forces!” Cassidy said. “You’re already perverting him, Finn!”

Cassidy picked up the hat on the ground and started to pack away her stuff. It was then that Sean noticed her signs, one that read ’will eat for food.’

“Sorry! I know suburban boys is your thing,” Finn said.

He looked over at Sean, but Sean was too busy readying the signs to notice.

“Are you kidding? Wanna talk about your scoreboard, hotshot?” Cassidy asked, her voice rising.

“Does that work?” Sean asked.

Cassidy looked over at him, startled.

“What?” Cassidy asked.

“’Will eat for food?’” Sean questioned.

Cassidy shrugged with a chuckle.

“Hey, I will,” Cassidy said. “Didn’t write a lie.”

Sean shook his head. As far as he was aware cardboard signs never worked. He’d only seen people avert their gazes and rush buy to try and run from their guilty conscious.

“C’mon, let’s bail,” Finn said.

“It was nice meeting you, Sean and Daniel,” Cassidy said.

She bowed to Daniel. Instantly Daniel leapt to his feet and bowed back, excited by her gesture.

“See ya,” Finn said to Sean with a slight smirk. “Stay outta trouble, kids.”

“Bye,” Sean said.

A slow smile crossed him.

“Goodbye!” Daniel said eagerly.

“Hope we see you on the rails someday,” Cassidy said.

“Maybe,” Sean agreed. “See you around.”

Sean and Daniel both watched as the trio left. Daniel’s gaze was fixed on Pigeon, while Sean was watching his owner.

“That doggie was so cute… I miss Mushroom,” Daniel sighed.

Sean looked down at him to see his expression had fallen.

“I know… I miss her too,” Sean murmured. “I’m… sorry, Daniel.”

“For what?” Daniel asked uncertainly.

Sean shoved his hands into his jacket pocket, before looking down at Daniel.

“All of this mess,” Sean said. “I should’ve watched Mushroom closer, gone out with her.”

Daniel went quiet.

“She was my dog,” Daniel said in a small voice. “She was my responsibility.”

“No,” Sean said. “She was _our_ responsibility, enano… bad things happen… and I’m sorry you had to go through it.”

“We went through it together,” Daniel said. “Right?”

“Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it so far! I was going to start from them meeting up with Finn/Cassidy in California (or somewhere along the way), but I had to replay the Christmas Market mission a couple of times and had a few ideas of how to change it. It's kinda lame we don't get to choose between Finn/Cassidy right away imo, I wish we could've had the option to encounter Finn first before Cassidy... but whatever. My first choice was focused on the collectible so my first play i talked to Cassidy and did all of that but I had to redo it and moved to leave the Christmas market to see if Daniel talked to Chris (bc he kept lying??? how rude) and Cassidy insulted my gift >:c  
> But I digress :') This story will mostly focus on Sean going through his grief (bc we don't get it to the extent I want in game) and coming to terms with being bi  
> Let me know what you guys think so far! And what ship did you like more in game if any?


	2. Sanctuary smells of Garbage

Escaping Beaver Creek had been easy, what came after was… not as easy. Weirdly enough, thirteen bucks didn’t go far. They’d been surviving on cheap junk food ever since, taking scraps where they could. It wasn’t a good way to live, Sean knew that. Daniel needed to eat more to stay healthy, but… this was the best they had.

They needed more money.

They stayed on the train for a while and hopped off once they saw signs of a town. They’d wandered closer to it but ended up not staying long. Sean had seen their faces flash across a tv screen and got worried, deciding they would only buy food and get out. Daniel didn’t protest much. Daniel hadn’t talked much, which worried Sean. Usually Daniel couldn’t keep quiet, he talked _too_ much. Sean wasn’t really in the mood to talk either, he was exhausted, but he had to make sure Daniel was alright.

“Hey, it’s not much further now, dude,” Sean said as Daniel huffed.

Daniel didn’t reply and Sean looked back at him. Daniel was staring at the ground with a small frown.

“Daniel?” Sean questioned.

Daniel looked up at his name, before looking away with a guilty look.

“Do you think Chris hates me?” Daniel asked in a small voice.

Sean hesitated a moment. He’d told Daniel to tell the truth, but Daniel wasn’t great at following instructions he didn’t like. It was a constant battle he had with Daniel; he wasn’t his dad… Daniel didn’t _have_ to listen to him. Honestly, Sean was _trying_ to look out for him, but he was still a kid himself. He didn’t know how to do this shit; he didn’t have any books on parenting. Sean had certainly lied a lot, but it was to protect them. He didn’t trust anyone anymore, but because of his own lying Daniel must have thought it was better to keep it a secret. Sean didn’t know exactly how to tell Daniel lying was only ok sometimes. Deciphering when it was a good time to lie was nearly impossible, Sean sucked at it. That much was obvious when he lied to Daniel about their dad. He’d done it for selfish reasons, he knew that now, but back then it felt like he was protecting Daniel instead of hiding from the truth.

“I doubt it,” Sean finally said. “Chris is a smart kid; he’ll understand we were in a bad spot.”

“Do you really think so?” Daniel asked. “When he looked back at me… he looked shocked.”

“Dude, you tossed a police car into the air, of course he was shocked,” Sean scoffed.

“…sorry…” Daniel muttered.

Normally, Sean wouldn’t approve of what Daniel did, but… if he hadn’t done it, Chris would have died. Thank God the cop survived; they didn’t need to be blamed for another cop’s death… well this one _would_ be their fault. He guessed the first was their fault too, but… Sean didn’t really count it. The cop killed their dad, they acted in self-defense.

“Don’t be, you saved Chris,” Sean said. “Like a hero.”

Of course, if he had listened to Sean in the first place Chris never would have been in danger, but… Sean hadn’t provided the best example for Daniel. It made sense he continued to lie, hell Sean had lied plenty.

Daniel looked up at Sean uncertainly, like he was waiting for an insult. When none came, Daniel smiled slowly.

“Really?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah,” Sean said.

He let his gaze slide forward again and he sighed.

“Just… in the future, don’t hide big stuff like that,” Sean said. “Chris could’ve gotten hurt.”

“I know,” Daniel said. “Would you have told Lyla?”

“If I were you?” Sean asked, not sure he understood the question.

“No… I mean did you tell Lyla?” Daniel asked.

“No,” Sean admitted. “But I didn’t lie about our situation either… I think the police figured out where we were because of me… I’m sorry about that dude, I made a bad call.”

“We both did,” Daniel said with a tentative smile.

“Yeah, we did,” Sean agreed as he returned the smile. “But the police can’t catch the wolf brothers, can they?”

“Never,” Daniel said happily.

His smile grew. Daniel seemed more like himself finally. He’d been low energy for the majority of their walk.

“Can we get on a train after this?” Daniel asked. “I’m soooo tired of walking!”

Sean chuckled and nodded.

“Totally, if there is one, we can hitch a ride,” Sean said.

“Like the boxcar children,” Daniel exclaimed.

“Sort of, yeah,” Sean agreed.

They continued on their trek towards the next town, and as they got closer Daniel’s mood continued to lift. Sean was grateful for Daniel’s newfound spurt of energy, but he couldn’t muster the same amount of enthusiasm. He was tired and hungry. He’d gotten better at bitching quietly, but he still felt the occasional piercing thoughts of this sucks. He was able to force them away by focusing on his objective. Make it to the town, find some food, refill water, and find someway to make money. He was beginning to wish he had learned to play some musical instrument, if he did, he could set up in a park and play.

"Can we go to a diner?" Daniel asked. "It's been like weeks since we've eaten real food!" 

"Dude it has not been weeks," Sean scoffed. "It hasn't even been two weeks since we are at grandma's." 

"I know," Daniel muttered. "I just miss them." 

Sean hesitated a moment. He missed them too, more than he expected. They hadn't been a big part of his childhood, but they did care for them. He knew they did. Sean had been surprised how openly they accepted them, even with the risk of the cops chasing them down. 

"I do too," Sean said quietly. "Look, when we can we can go to a diner." 

"Yes!" Daniel cheered. 

“We need money first,” Sean reminded.

“Why don’t you draw people? Like they do in the city and charge money,” Daniel said.

“I don’t have enough paper and I’m not good enough for that.” 

“Sure, you are, just do a cartoon!”

Sean chuckled. He liked Daniel’s enthusiasm, but he wasn’t good enough for that. At least, not yet.

The town itself seemed rather small; Sean could identify one distinct main road as they looked down on it. A train roared in the distance and Sean made a note he’d have to buy a map. Figure out where that train was heading and if they could use it.

“Let’s go already,” Daniel said excitedly.

He tugged at Sean, before starting down the hill towards the town.

“Alright, enano,” Sean said.

He followed Daniel closely, his gaze flickering across the town. It was unlikely, but he kept his eyes open for any police cars that could be tailing. There weren’t any that he could see.

They reached the town without any trouble but earned a few strange looks as they started down the sidewalk. Sean spotted a park restroom and caught Daniel by the back of his shirt.

“Hold up, let’s get clean,” Sean said. “We want to be semi-presentable.”

Daniel groaned loudly but obeyed. There detour didn’t take too long, and Sean was glad they’d taken the time. They both needed it. There was no way Sean would get any money looking like someone who lived in the woods.

They returned back to the sidewalk once they’d cleaned up and started down. As they walked, Sean spotted a help wanted poster in the window. He stopped and looked over the store. It was a small bookstore, probably locally owned. There was a flier stuck to the window with more information.

“Daniel, hold up,” Sean called.

Daniel stopped and looked back at him.

“But there’s a diner!” Daniel whined.

“We don’t have money, Daniel,” Sean reminded. “Not yet.”

Sean studied the flier for a moment. He couldn’t work long term, but… maybe they’d let him help out for a week or two, however long they’d stay. Sean sighed irritably. He doubted they’d even listen to him; he was seventeen without any references. He didn’t even live in town. Hell, he couldn’t even accept checks as payment. This was a fucked plan, but it was the only chance he had.

“Wait out here Daniel, alright?” Sean asked.

“Aw,” Daniel whined. “Why can’t I go in? It’s boring out here and hot as balls-“

Sean gave him a stern look and Daniel’s gaze moved to the ground.

“Sorry,” Daniel grumbled.

He kicked at a rock on the ground and Sean sighed again. He’d been doing that a lot lately. His dad sighed a lot too, he’d said it came with age. Sean felt like he’d aged years in the span of weeks.

“It’s alright,” Sean said. “But we shouldn’t swear in town, alright? We don’t want to draw attention.”

“I know, I know,” Daniel mumbled.

“You’ll wait right here for me?” Sean asked warily.

“I will,” Daniel huffed. “You never trust me.”

For good reason, Daniel had a nasty habit of slipping off. He always thought it was harmless, but it almost never was. It was a habit Sean wanted to curb desperately, but he hadn’t had any progress. It happened back at the gas station and that went _great._

“Promise?” Sean asked.

“I promise,” Daniel said.

“Alright, I’ll be right back, enano,” Sean said with a slight smile.

He ruffled Daniel’s hair and instantly Daniel reacted, ducking down to escape Sean.

“Hey!” Daniel said.

Sean snickered and pulled the door to the shop in before walking in. He glanced around, surveying the shop. It was small, he could see the entirety of it from the door. There were five rows of bookshelves and a small knick knacks section towards the front of the store. There was an older woman browsing the back, looking at recipe books.

He turned to look at the counter to see a bored boy around his age manning it. The boy’s hair was short, and his eyes were shaped and similar in hue to an acorn. God was his frame of reference now forest junk? He’d spent too much time in the woods, it was official.

Sean studied his dark red shirt to see a nametag, Zach. Zach seemed to be in a daze, staring at the back wall dully. Sean approached the counter and the boy instantly snapped out of his trance, looking up at Sean. He smiled tiredly.

“How can I help you?” Zach asked, his voice as tired as his smile.

“How long have you been working?” Sean questioned.

“Not that long,” Zach admitted. “Just boring, this is the busiest it ever gets.”

“Really need extra workers?” Sean mused.

“No,” Zach scoffed. “But having another person around would make it less boring. You here to apply?”

“Yeah,” Sean confirmed.

Zach stood up off of his stool and walked over to a table behind the counter. He rifled through one of the drawers before pulling out a yellow paper. He handed it to Sean and Sean glanced it over.

“Just fill this out and hand it in sometime this week,” Zach said.

“Alright, thanks,” Sean said.

He started towards the door, before stopping and looking back.

“How do you get your paycheck?” Sean asked.

“Ever had a job?” Zach questioned curiously.

Sean shrugged, instead of lying. He had, but Sean couldn’t say that. He couldn’t give them a reference, not after everything that happened in Seattle. Doing that would be as good as lighting a beacon and begging the police to through him in juvy.

“It’s a smaller business so they don’t do direct deposits,” Zach said. “They give me a check biweekly.”

“Ever do cash?” Sean asked.

“Nah,” Zach said. “Only in tips.”

Sean glanced over to see a tip jar sitting on the counter. It only had a few cents in it, mostly pennies it looked like.

“So never,” Zach chuckled.

Sean smiled slightly and pulled out his wallet. He slipped out two dollars and put it in the tip jar.

“Put in a good word for me?” Sean asked.

“Bribing me with two dollars?”

“Hey, I don’t have much money,” Sean said with a crooked smile. “I need a job.”

“Yeah you do, if your best bribe is two dollars,” Zach scoffed. “What’s your name?”

“Sean,” Sean provided.

“Yeah, I’ll put in a good word,” Zach said. “You seem cool enough.”

“Thanks man,” Sean said. “I’ll fill this out then.”

“Mhm.”

Sean stepped out of the shop, studying the application as he did. Checks wouldn’t work great for him, but… maybe he could convince them to pay him in cash? That was a long shot, he knew it-

Sirens sounded as Sean stepped out and instantly, he froze. He watched as a patrol car rolled past him and he relaxed, they weren’t here for them. He stepped out of the doorway, letting the door fall shut behind him.

“Daniel,” Sean called.

He looked over to where he’d left Daniel, but the bench was empty.

“Son of a bitch,” Sean growled.

He looked up, his gaze following the patrol car. It rolled to a stop at the next block and an officer stepped out. The officer was tall with wide set shoulders, definitely not someone Sean wanted to fight. He watched the officer for a moment, before spotting Daniel further down the street. He was standing with two familiar people, Finn and Cassidy. The cop was walking towards them, his hand hooked on his belt.

Sean didn’t have much time, if the cop recognized Daniel they were screwed. He looked around and spotted a rock lying on the ground. He picked it up in his hand and tossed it as hard as he could towards the cop. It slammed into the cop’s back directly. He was surprised it hit the cop, he expected it to miss.

“Hey!” Sean shouted.

The cop whirled around; his blue eyes narrowed in anger.

"Who threw that?!” the cop demanded.

Sean took a hesitant step back, his courage faltering. The old woman stepped out of the store and Sean glanced to her. He looked back to the cop nervously.

“Uh… I did?” Sean said.

“Why the hell did you do that?” The cop snapped.

He marched towards Sean, anger radiating in his eyes. Sean’s gaze flickered to his gun, but the cop’s hand wasn’t near it. His pulse was racing, he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

“I uh….” Sean trailed off.

“You shouldn’t throw rocks, kid,” the cop said firmly. He stared at Sean for a moment, his frown turning thoughtful. “Wait a minute…”

Sean took another step back as the cop continued forward.

“You’re that Diaz kid,” the cop said as recognition registered in his eyes. “You killed that cop-“

Sean bolted across the street at that. A loud honking sounded and a car screeched to a halt behind him. He risked a look back to see a bright red sedan in the spot he had been seconds ago.

“Shit,” Sean breathed.

“Don’t you dare move,” the cop commanded.

Sean stared at him for a moment, before looking down the alley to his left. There was a chain link fence behind it, but there was a crate beside it he could use to climb up. Sean looked back to the cop.

“Uh… bye,” Sean said.

“Wait-“

Sean sprinted towards the alley way. He could hear the cop shout something into his radio. Sean had never run as fast as he did then, he was pretty sure it was a personal record. Coach would be proud.

He scaled the fence easily and turned back to see the cop entering the alley.

“Don’t you dare move!” he shouted.

Sean bolted. He headed out of the alley and to his right, planning on circling back to find Daniel. He couldn’t leave him alone for long. He sprinted down the sidewalk, his heart racing. How far could he run? Was the cop close?

Sirens wailed nearby. How had they gotten here so fast? Did they seriously have nothing better to do?

“Over here,” a voice shouted.

He skidded to a stop and looked over to see Finn standing by a chain link fence. He glanced around quickly. The cop still hadn’t escaped the alley, but the sirens were growing louder.

“C’mon, Flash,” Finn called with a smirk.

Obediently Sean ran over to him. Finn pulled away a cardboard box and revealed a break in the fence. Sean stopped short of him and stared at it.

“Got anywhere better to hide?” Finn asked.

He didn’t.

Sean crawled through the break in the fence, feeling the loose wires tug at his clothes.

“Sean!”

Instantly he felt Daniel’s arms wrap around him. He hugged him back, smiling.

“I’ve never seen someone run so fast,” Finn laughed.

Daniel let go of Sean and beamed at Finn as he retreated past the fence. He stared at Finn for a moment. Finn stared back with a lopsided smile. His clothes were lighter than they had been back in Beaver Creek, he was wearing a hoodie of a black t-shirt, stained pants (by what looked like paint and Sean hoped red clay), and a dark red beanie. Sean was pretty sure he had another small tattoo on his face, a triangle.

“Yeah, well,” Sean began defensively. He didn’t have anything to follow it up with, but instead huffed.

“I’m not judging, man,” Finn reassured. “It was cool, Flash.”

“Yeah?” Sean asked.

“It was stupid,” Cassidy said. “Who throws a rock at a cop?”

“Didn’t have a better plan,” Sean said.

“I thought it was cool too,” Daniel said eagerly. “Like a superhero!”

“I thought I told you to wait for me,” Sean said pointedly.

Daniel wilted.

“I uh- yeah, but… I saw Cassidy,” Daniel mumbled.

“What are you guys doing here?” Sean asked.

He looked up over at Cassidy. She was wearing a jean jacket, black leggings, and a purple shirt. Sean took note of the area they were in finally, his gaze flickering around. There were tents and makeshift lean-tos made out of tarps filling the area. A chain link fence ran along the outskirts, with several buildings along the side of the fence. Two areas of the fence line had no buildings protecting it, but the fence was covered with cardboard to block it.

“What is this place?” Sean asked uncertainly.

There were more people walking around, a tall man with pulled back blonde air, a lanky boy who looked a few years older than Sean, and a girl with short choppy brown hair. He looked back to Cassidy and Finn.

“Our home for the week,” Finn said. “Paradise.”

Sean wasn’t sure this was what he’d call a paradise. The ground was mostly dirt with scattering clumps of dirt. He could count three trees in total, all scattered around. It smelled too, like a dump.

“This was an old building site,” Cassidy explained. “But funding fell through, and here we are taking advantage of unused land.”

“Huh.”

“Hey, this is your sanctuary,” Finn said.

As if to bolster his point, a siren wailed nearby. Sean flinched, instantly turning to look for it. He spotted a light flickering over the fence, flashing red and blue.

“Calm down, Flash,” Finn said.

He set an around Sean’s shoulders and Sean jumped slightly, surprised. Finn smirked at him and Sean glowered. He was stressed. He’d just gotten chase by a cop.

“Let’s show you both around,” Finn said. “Until the cops stop looking for your delinquent ass.”

“Can we?” Daniel asked excitedly. “Come on, Sean!”

He was begging, with wide eyes, and a pushed-out bottom lip. Sean sighed heavily. They did need to lay low.

“Sure,” Sean said.

They needed to keep their heads down and this seemed as a good place as any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is pretty short just to be a transition, but... yeah! I know the idea of running from the cops is stupid but to completely honest that was the idea for this fanfic haha sean being stupid running from the cops and finn bailing him out  
> I know the hinted at way they met up with the finn/cassidy gang was through a work wanted sign... but that sounds lame to me tbh so i went a different direction   
> i hope you guys liked it!


End file.
